Whether you are new to running or just new to racing, the first logical jump into the running scene is to sign up for a 5K.

It’s the perfect distance: 3.1 miles require relatively little buildup, the training doesn’t take over your life, and the race is over fairly quickly. By logging only three or four runs per week, you can be ready to toe the line of a 5K in just five weeks.

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The distance of a is 3.1 miles. On a standard outdoor track, a 5K (5,000 meters) is 12.5 laps.

5K races are among the most popular for runners of all abilities. Because it’s a relatively short distance, compared to other road races, the 5K is ideal for beginners. Many non-runners can run the 5K distance with a few weeks of training.

In 2016, there were 8.2 million finishers of 5K races in the United States. That accounted for about 49 percent of finishers of all races. By number of events, the 5K is far and away the most popular distance. There were 17,000 5K events in 2016, more races than all other distances combined.

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The distance of a is 6.2 miles.

Every year, tens of thousands of runners flock to popular spring and summer 10K events, such as the Crescent City Classic in New Orleans, the Bolder Boulder in Colorado, and the Peachtree Road Race in Atlanta. The festive atmosphere and hoards of cheering fans draw runners in. And you can join the fun. With at least eight weeks between now and race day, you’ve got plenty of time to build up to completing 6.2 miles safely and comfortably.

A new way of calculating the value of volunteers was recently released throughout the province by Propellus, formerly known as Volunteer Calgary, on behalf of all Alberta volunteer centres.

And Strathcona County is sitting pretty, with the numbers showing local residents volunteered approximately 7.9 million hours over the last year.

“It has always been a struggle in the volunteer sector to find concrete ways of expressing the value of volunteers in our community,” said Judy Ferguson, executive director of the Information and Volunteer Centre of Strathcona County.

But pinpointing that value at 7.9 million creates a much more concrete figure.

The new calculation process allows organizations across the province to use similar comparatives on volunteerism,” Ferguson said, and the provincial government will be calculating the value of volunteerism using the new method.

Through this system, Ferguson added, the 7.9 million hours donated by volunteers in Strathcona County last year would equate to a value of around $224.8 million.

She added that, based on a 35-hour work week, the dollar figure would equate to 4,352 full-time jobs, based on an average Alberta wage of 28.39 per hour.

Method

The volunteer calculations were based on Strathcona County’s population of 98,400, with a 50-per-cent volunteer rate.

Those 49,200 residents volunteering in the county were each attributed an average annual number of volunteer hours of 161, leading to the 7.9-million mark.